McDonald's plans to sign 25 billion yen loan

OAK BROOK -- McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, plans to sign a 25 billion yen ($303 million) loan this year, a person familiar with the matter said.The company will use the syndicated facility, being arranged by Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., to help pay for operating expenses, the person said, declining to be identified because the terms aren’t final. The deal would be fast-food chain’s third yen-denominated syndicated loan in Japan following a 55 billion yen facility in 2011 and a 40 billion yen borrowing in 2008, according to information Tadao Hayashi, a Tokyo-based senior vice president of global syndicated finance at Mizuho, gave in a February 2011 interview.McDonald’s, which expects to pay 1.4 billion yen to close 110 stores in the country amid slumping sales, is focusing on more profitable drive-throughs and increasing the number of cafe-style restaurants, according to an earnings statement last month. Same-store sales, considered a key indicator of a retailer’s growth because they include only older locations, fell 7.2 percent in October, according to the Nov. 8 statement.The company has $14.3 billion of outstanding debt, including 12.5 billion yen of bonds maturing June 2030, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.